Well, don't take too much notice of the Spider III and Marshall MG hate, the amps are underrated, but in honesty, there is better for your money, so I wouldn't advise getting one, although my MG is kicking out quite a nice tone at the moment (after Three years of fiddling and mixing/matching)Maybe check out a Roland? (Just noticed you already put that, yes, it's a good choice)

Guitar wise, I wouldn't go for the Squier, just, I'm not sure, just know that it wouldn't be my first choice haha.Maybe look at some Epiphones? The starter guitars they have are better than a majority of guitars in your price range.

for that price: go for the roland cube series for the amp, and check out rondomusic.com. for 250 you can get a real nice Les Paul copy by Agile for around 200-280, or the SX line, which is also quite good, gives you alot more options.

Advice is what you're after, cause nobody can really tell you what's best for you but, well - you.

When you're looking at a guitar, you want to play it acoustically before you even think of plugging it in and listen for how well it resonates, or how clear and even it sounds, without an amp. If it sounds good unplugged, it will sound great plugged in. Aside from that, focus on how smooth your fret hand is able to move on the neck, how much of an affect the knobs have on the tone (Volume and tone knobs), and how comfortable the guitar is to both sit and stand with. When you DO plug it in, do so on a CLEAN channel first - NO distortion, as it can mask the sound of a bad or cheaply made guitar. On that note, DO NOT let the salesman play it before you - Van Halen can make a lame, awful, and poorly built guitar sound like a great deal too - doesn't mean that it is. YOU should always have the first impression, not have it told to you second hand by someone who's paycheck is by commission on how much he/she sells. Beyond that, just trust your ear and what you like.

As far as an amp goes, it's the same principle. Start with the clean channel, make sure you have a decent cable (cord) to play through, and don't let the other guy tweak it unless you already know what sound you want to achieve and can readily recognize it - for example - "Give me a Metallica Distortion tone" that you're familiar enough with to recognize, or "How about the clean part in Pantera's This Love." - Stuff like that which you can tell is right for the style of music you do. If the amp is a modeling or FX driven amp, start with simply a clean tone, all knobs at 12 o' clock, and go from there.

And do not - I repeat - DO NOT - let someone convince you that the only good guitars are expensive ones. With technology and production today, you can get a really nice guitar for well under what most people consider half expensive. For a first guitar, 200-300 should suit you just fine for a guitar, if you want something decent. There are cheapies out there, but they won't last - they're good, however, if you're unsure of whether or not you want to seriously undertake guitar and make it a permanent fixture in your life.

The first guitar... ahhh! A couple of things to consider here. First, how familiar are you with tremolos on electric guitars. They can be difficult to restring if you're not familiar with them. I personally love tremolos (floating, floyd rose, etc.) but I remember having some difficulty initially when I bought my first guitar with one. If it's not an issue then check out Ibanez. Specifically in your price range look at the Ibanez GSA60 Electric Guitar. Runs about $200-$225 on musiciansfriend.com and other sites.

If a tremolo is going to be worrisome, then the Fender Squire is a pretty good choice for an entry level guitar. The Fat Strat or Standard Strat definitely fall in your price range.

On amplifiers... you'll definitely be limited to a small combo amp, most likely around 15 watts. If you can stretch the budget a little bit, then shop frugally and try to get something that is 25 watts. One recommendation is the Randall RX Series RX25RM 25W 1x10 Guitar Combo Amp. It's priced at $135 on musiciansfriend.com and other sites. It's got a clean and overdrive (dirty) channel on it so you wouldn't even need an effects pedal necessarily to begin with.

Overall... if you have the ability to try out the instrument and amplifier in a local store, DO IT. Things may look "cool" on a website and through customer feedback, but the best feedback is trying it out before you buy it.

Well, don't take too much notice of the Spider III and Marshall MG hate, the amps are underrated, but in honesty, there is better for your money, so I wouldn't advise getting one, although my MG is kicking out quite a nice tone at the moment (after Three years of fiddling and mixing/matching)Maybe check out a Roland? (Just noticed you already put that, yes, it's a good choice)

Guitar wise, I wouldn't go for the Squier, just, I'm not sure, just know that it wouldn't be my first choice haha.Maybe look at some Epiphones? The starter guitars they have are better than a majority of guitars in your price range.

Hope I was of any help!

1. Yeah, welcome to UG. You'll become addicted to this site in no time.

2. I agree for the MG. It's not all that bad, but there's better out there for the price like Vauxite said. The Spider on the other hand sucks really bad. Some people do tend to get a descent tone out of it though, but personally I don't like it. Listen to Not Going Away by Ozzy Osbourne, by example (because I listened to it not too long ago). You know how the guitar sounds at the beggining? I can't really describe it, but that's how the Spider sounds distorted. Then, when it kicks in, it sounds so much better. I'd check out the Vypyr or the Roland Cube.

3. For the guitar, if you play stuff like AC/DC, GNR, and want a somewhat heavy sound, go for humbuckers (, or at least one, like in a Fat strat. I'd consider you try some out, see what kind of feel you'd want and take it from there. Check out some Epiphones, Squiers, Yamaha Pacificas, etc. They'd be good starting guitars.

1. Yeah, welcome to UG. You'll become addicted to this site in no time.

I think i already am

Thanks a lot guys for the help

Just a quick question, which one of the roland amps are to prefer; the microcube or the 15x?

EDIT: How is the Epiphone Les Paul Special II compared to the Affinity Fat and the Yamaha Pacifica 112. I'm willing to up my amp budget to about $200 if there's any notable better ones than the already suggested?

cubes are nice, but more aimed at the metal stuff- a vox valvetronix might be worth a look instead (it's also a modelling amp like the cubes and vypyrs, but more aimed at the stuff you play).

EDIT: i don't think i've tried the epi LP special II, but as far as i'm aware, the general consensus is to avoid it because it's a beginner guitar (in the worst sense of the word).

I'm an idiot and I accidentally clicked the "Remove all subscriptions" button. If it seems like I'm ignoring you, I'm not, I'm just no longer subscribed to the thread. If you quote me or do the @user thing at me, hopefully it'll notify me through my notifications and I'll get back to you.

Quote by K33nbl4d3

I'll have to put the Classic T models on my to-try list. Shame the finish options there are Anachronism Gold, Nuclear Waste and Aged Clown, because in principle the plaintop is right up my alley.

Quote by K33nbl4d3

Presumably because the CCF (Combined Corksniffing Forces) of MLP and Gibson forums would rise up against them, plunging the land into war.

cubes are nice, but more aimed at the metal stuff- a vox valvetronix might be worth a look instead (it's also a modelling amp like the cubes and vypyrs, but more aimed at the stuff you play).

EDIT: i don't think i've tried the epi LP special II, but as far as i'm aware, the general consensus is to avoid it because it's a beginner guitar (in the worst sense of the word).

I had an LP special II, the neck is really sweet on them (at least on mine from '98), but the pickups are about as good as granny's crack hair in your cereal.

hmm, TS, I would actually say the amp doesn't really matter in the beginning, because you're probably not gonna notice a big difference in tone yet anyways. I'd spend more money on a guitar with a nice neck and good pickups. try the Les Paul standard from epiphone, or check out second hand stores, they have really neat stuff sometimes. found a white Ibanez LP from the early 90's for 300 bucks the other day. also if you have a friend who plays guitar, get him to come with you and give his oppinion, it's gonna be alot more honest than the store clerk's

pacifica and one of the vox valvetronix series definately.pacifica is one of the best starter guitars on the market, at a good price.and I believe the vyper and cube are more geared towards metal, and the vox is equally good but more aimed towards classic rock, so it would be better suited for you

I don't have any suggestions of guitars or amps, so I can't really help you there, however, I have some more general suggestions and questions for you.

What dollars is your budget in, American?

Are you willing to buy second hand, online or new? Second hand is cheaper, but it can have problems like the guitar not working properly, being a copy or fake, and if it breaks soon after you cant return it for a refund or another guitar. Buying online can be cheaper than in a shop, but you can't try the guitar before you buy it. Also, you have to be careful about which websites you buy from, because some websites might be scams. If you are worried about that, I suggest you do some research about the websites you might want to buy from.

And my suggestion is that you look at the reviews on ultimate guitar (there are lots of other reviews on the internet that you can look at too). The reviews can be quite useful when deciding what guitar you want.

I don't have any suggestions of guitars or amps, so I can't really help you there, however, I have some more general suggestions and questions for you.

What dollars is your budget in, American?

Are you willing to buy second hand, online or new? Second hand is cheaper, but it can have problems like the guitar not working properly, being a copy or fake, and if it breaks soon after you cant return it for a refund or another guitar. Buying online can be cheaper than in a shop, but you can't try the guitar before you buy it. Also, you have to be careful about which websites you buy from, because some websites might be scams. If you are worried about that, I suggest you do some research about the websites you might want to buy from.

And my suggestion is that you look at the reviews on ultimate guitar (there are lots of other reviews on the internet that you can look at too). The reviews can be quite useful when deciding what guitar you want.

My budget is in american dollars. I don't mind buying online. I'm not so sure about buying second hand because I'm not so sure what to look after quality wise.

i would suggest a modeling amp for a beginner, because if your taste changes, then theyre very versitile, and to untrained ears dont sound much worse than expensive amps. you seem to understand though, and the vypyr and cube amps are the best in that range

as for a guitar, look for epiphones or ibanez's. ibanez makes some kick ass starter guitars. look for an ibanez gsa 60. i still play it more than my more expensive guitars, and ive been playing for a year and a half.deffinitely worth the money.

My budget is in american dollars. I don't mind buying online. I'm not so sure about buying second hand because I'm not so sure what to look after quality wise.Thanks a lot for your input guys, much appreciated!

Smart man. I applaud you knowing yourself well enough to admit that and save yourself a lot of trouble. There are guys that will buy whatever looks cool to say they got a great deal used and bring a bucket home.

I'm willing to raise my guitar budget to about $300 US if there's any significantly better guitars for a beginner, and if it will be worh the extra money, than the specific models already mentioned?

Guitars already mentioned:

- Fender Squier Affinity Fat- Yamaha Pacifica 112- Ibanez GSA60

EDIT:

Smart man. I applaud you knowing yourself well enough to admit that and save yourself a lot of trouble. There are guys that will buy whatever looks cool to say they got a great deal used and bring a bucket home.

Thanks ...When I get more knowledge, I think I will buy a used guitar.

Go used on the guitar. You should be able to feel the difference in quality. When I bought my first guitar I got a used one for $300 that sold for $700 new. There was no question which was better against any new $300 guitar i tried.

I'm an idiot and I accidentally clicked the "Remove all subscriptions" button. If it seems like I'm ignoring you, I'm not, I'm just no longer subscribed to the thread. If you quote me or do the @user thing at me, hopefully it'll notify me through my notifications and I'll get back to you.

Quote by K33nbl4d3

I'll have to put the Classic T models on my to-try list. Shame the finish options there are Anachronism Gold, Nuclear Waste and Aged Clown, because in principle the plaintop is right up my alley.

Quote by K33nbl4d3

Presumably because the CCF (Combined Corksniffing Forces) of MLP and Gibson forums would rise up against them, plunging the land into war.

I really do advise you to pick up a Vypyr as your amp, ive got one and i really like it, maybe im kinda biased because i own one, but what the heck, their sweet

As for your guitar situation, you definately need something with humbuckers. So maybe...a Dean ML XM? Ive never personally played one, but reading reviews on musiciansfriend, this looks like a nice cheap starter guitar, Anyone have any opinions?